Colombia issues decree, bill on minors

Decree 0769 and platform obligations

Decree 0769 of 2026 has been in force since July and implements Law 2489 of 2025 on healthy and safe digital environments. The rule assigns concrete new duties to digital platforms, educational institutions and families to protect children and adolescents online.

Those measures include default privacy settings, parental controls and stronger reporting tools. It also explicitly bans the collection of biometric data from minors, mass surveillance and profiling for commercial purposes. In addition, platforms must carry out age verification that is proportional to the risk posed by the service, without requesting unnecessary personal data or intercepting private communications without a court order.

The decree also requires platforms to report immediately to the Attorney General’s Office when they detect child sexual exploitation. National media coverage adds that platforms must include more visible complaint buttons and submit semiannual reports to MinTIC on how the protection measures are being implemented.

Institutional scope

According to national audiovisual coverage, the decree explicitly involves the Ministry of Education, the ICBF, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Defense, and it also requires schools to strengthen education on digital risk prevention. MinTIC said the regulation promotes media literacy, safe browsing habits and support channels for minors exposed to digital abuse.

The ministry leading the sector also presented the measure as part of a strategy to promote a safer cyberspace against risks such as cyberbullying, online sexual exploitation and abuse, digital grooming, privacy violations and exposure to inappropriate content. ICT Minister Carina Murcia said the decree is a public policy roadmap and is not intended to ban social media use.

Prensa Latina also reported that MinTIC must draft a national public policy for healthy and safe digital environments within 12 months, create a free repository of resources and best practices for families, students and teachers, and launch an interinstitutional Integrated Monitoring, Evaluation and Technological Development System.

Bill in Congress

At the same time, a Col Mundo Radio report said, without official confirmation in the available material, that Congress is reviewing a bill already introduced to restrict social media access for minors under 16. The proposal would include mandatory age verification and fines of up to 5,000 minimum wages for platforms that fail to comply.

The same report attributes the text to lawmakers Jesús Lorduy and Enrique Cabrales, and says the SIC would be the agency responsible for inspecting, monitoring and verifying compliance. Another report, from EL TIEMPO, said the bill has already been filed and will use regulations from France and Australia as reference points for legislative debate on child protection, mental health and access to digital platforms.

The available information does not allow this report to confirm a single, unified parliamentary status for the bill beyond those news accounts, but it does show that debate over minors’ access to social media has become part of a broader regulatory agenda on child digital safety in Colombia.

Another sector measure

Separately from this regulatory front, the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced a Sector Monitoring Center to strengthen cybersecurity in the mining and energy sector. The plan focuses on continuous monitoring, early detection and coordinated incident response.